Yesterday, it was all hands (well, 24 pair anyway) on deck as our Ballpark Tours group began our westward bus trek – two minor league games in Omaha, three Pirates/Rockies tilts in Denver and a pair of Cardinals/Royals contests in Kansas City. Along the way, there are also such opportunities as: the Omaha “In the Market for Blues” festival; the National Ballpark Museum in Denver; the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City; and much more. We expect ten great days (and nights) of blues, brews, barbeque and baseball. We also expect all the usual comedy and comaraderie that are part of BPT’s 36-year tradition. And, BPT started to deliver on that tradition even before we left Saint Paul.
Busy hands make a good “Breakfast Bloody.”
We rolled out right on time (9;35 a.m.) and, since we do keep track of things in baseball, it should be noted that the first beer was opened while we were still “in port” (9:17 a.m. to be precise. Shortly thereafter, the mid-bus Bloody Mary Bar opened for breakfast and the music began to blare from “the back of the bus.”
A bit later, our intrepid (he likes to be called that) tour leader announced that the BPT “Tequila for Breakfast” tradition would have to be delayed, as he had left the spirits at home. He said he would have the bottle delivered to the hotel in Omaha via Fed Ex. (Apparently unaware that there would be liquor stores along the way.) Ah, but one of our resourceful trekkers saved the day. He just happened to have a “spare” bottle of tequila in his carry-on. Soon the tequila, lime, lemon and salt were making the usual rounds through the carraige. And, as usual, cookies, Chicago Mix and the like circulated through the bus all morning. It was kind of a “not very good for you” roundabout. (Although there was some gluten-free stuff.)
Other early activities included: delivery of this tour’s K-Kwiz; announcement of the “how many runs will be tallied” contest; explanation of the rules of travel; distribution of the “Port O’ Call” guide; and other announcements from the tour leader that were largely ignored.
The “Rev” delivers the sacred fish to the tour operator – offically blessing our journey.
A couple hours into the trip, the Reverend/Associate Pope/Vatican Lunch-master distributed meat, cheese and cracker snacks to all those hungry souls making this hardball pilgrimage. That was followed by the Rev’s personal delivery of the sacred fish to tour participants – each tidbit (pickled herring) was accompanied by the solemn blessing “Nomar Garciaparra” – which I believe is Latin for “Travel in peace, lay off the curve and enjoy the free fish.”
At around noon, we enjoyed a picnic (bring your own), rest-stop lunch in brisk 93-degree weather. I did note, later, that age seems to be taking its toll on this all-veteran crew. About 25 percent (we love statistics) of the bus were seen napping after lunch.
IN OMAHA
As we rolled into Omaha and up to the DoubleTree (by Hilton), a few things caught my attention:
- Our bus (driver) had to displace a group of Hell’s Angels parked in front of the hotel. (We all assured him later, after the bikers were long gone, that we had his back the whole time. He might even have believed us.)
- After arriving, we were directed to the other side of the hotel and a manager let us in through what appeared to be a basement door (one floor below the public lobby). Perhaps a bit of a slight, but he gave us each a free cookie (and the hotel bar is open until 2 a.m.), so all is forgiven.
- With our room keys we each received complimentary tickets to the $17.50 breakfast buffet – which turned out to be quite tasty: eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, pancakes, potatoes, biscuit and gravy, fruit, sweetbreads and more. Good move, Julian.
As usual with BPT – fine rooms, located near the heart of the action. Thanks, Julian.
THE GAME
Yes, I’m getting to it. There was a ballgame – Triple A – Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals) hosting the Las Vegas 51s (Mets).
At 6 p.m., we bussed to the ballpark – about a 30-minute ride – located on the outskirts of Omaha, basically in a soybean field. Not sure why, but we did do a “victory lap” around the entire facility before deboarding. On the way into the park, we had a chance to see the team’s tribute to Omaha-native Bob Gibson, as well tributes to the 50th anniversary of the team (under various names).
We had great seats, just beyond third base about a half-dozen rows from the field. BPT delivers again. The seats were, perhaps, better then the ball game. It was in fact, hard to believe this was Triple A – one step from the majors. I won’t go into a lot of detail, but we witnessed (and may be called to testify to):
- 23 runs – Omaha lost 12-11, but it didn’t seem that close.
- 32 hits – the batters averaged .381 for the game. The two starting pitchers lasted a combined 7 1/3 innings and surrendered 15 runs (ten pitchers were used, but none were harmed in the making of this game … except for, perhaps, their egos and prospects for a call-up).
- 20 extra-base hits, including nine home runs.
- 10 walks.
- 21 strikeouts.
- 2 errors.
- 2 wild pitches.
If you like Nintendo, this was the game for you.
Still, it was baseball, watched with a group of friends and fellow fans – and there was, indeed, plenty of excited, Here are a few more photos. What follows is a few more photos from the evening.
NO POST TOMORROW
I should add here that today’s schedule includes the Omaha Blues Fest (good timing for our visit and walking distance from the hotel) and a ball game. We have an early departure, so I probably won’t post an update on the tour until Monday.
Nice ballpark, even if it was located in a corn field.
There were fireworks and a country concert after the game.
Concession were generally good – the pulled pork hot dog got raves – but I’d avoid the Pop Tart Ice Cream Sandwich. It’s two frosted, sprinkled, jelly-filled, cold Pop Tarts with ice cream in the middle. So sweet that it will make your teeth hurt (and spoil the taste of beer). Not recomended for eaters over nine-years-old. Yes, I had one.
I felt this coach needed a shorter name or broader shoulders.
Woke up this a.m. to my 71st birthday and this was at the top of my emails.
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Member: Society for American Baseball Research; The Baseball Reliquary; The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
